Garment



y 1942. A. N. LA FRANCE GARMENT Filed May 9, 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet l ATTORNEYS y 23, 1942. A. N. LA FRANCE 2,291,589

GARMENT Filed May 9, 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet. 2

ATTORNEYS Patented July 28,1942 I UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE I GARMENT Albert N. La France, Paterson, N. 1., asslgnor to The Manhattan Shirt Company, New York, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application May 9, 1941, Serial No. 392,645

7 Claims. (Cl. 2-234) This invention relates to an improved slide fastener fly construction, the novel features of which will be best understood from the following description and the armexed drawings.

In the drawings, Fig. 1 is a front elevational view of a garment having a trouser fly construction embodying the principles of this invention, the garment illustrated being partially broken away to show the interior fly construction; Fig. 2 is a side elevational view of the garment shown in Fig. 1; Fig 3 is an enlarged fragmentary rear.

view of the front of the garment shown in Fig. 1 and showing in rear elevational view the fly portion of the garment, the left fly being partially broken away to show more clearly the arrangement of the slider fastener in the garment; Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 3 but showing the fly in opened position; Fig. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken alongthe line 5-5 of Fig. 3; Fig. 6 is a view similar to Fig. 5 showing the fly construction in partially opened condition; Fig'. 7 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line 1-1 of Fig. 4; Fig. 8 is a view somewhat similar to Fig. 3 and showing in perspective a modified form of the invention, and Fig. 9 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line 9-9 of Fig. 8 and showing in dotted outline the auxiliary closing means in opened position.

, Referring more particularly to Figs. 1 to 7 of the drawings, the right front or front panel of a trouser garment is generally designated to, while the left front or front panel of the garment is generally designated l I, such front panels i0 and H extending forwardly from the side seams of the garment and forming the front of the garment. A waistband I2 is secured to the upper edges of the left and right front panels in a known manner, one end of the waistband being provided with a button hole I3 and the other end thereof designated I4 being provided with a cooperating button l5. As is shown more clearly in Fig. 4 of the drawings, the end of the waistband designated l4 projects beyond the inner edge of the right front panel II) which is substantially in alignment with the center seam l6 of the garment, the button carried thereby being thus positioned, in the closed condition of the garment, slightly to the left of the center seam IS. The inner edge of the right front panel is a folded edge formed by folding inwardly the material of which such front panel is constituted to form a folded edge portion ll extending along the inner edge of such panel N from the waistband l2 to the center seam IS, the free edge of thefolded of the material. The inner edge of the left front panel H is likewise a folded edge produced by folding the material of such front panel inwardly to form an inner folded portion I8 extending from the waistband l2 to the center seam Hi. The folded edge of the left front panel ll, unlike the folded edge of the right front panel, is in alignment with the inner edge of the adjacent end of the waistband [2. The inner folded portion 18 has a width substantially greater than the width of the folded portion ll of the right front panel, being n fact, from 2 to 3 times wider than the latter. Positioned intermediate the folded portion I8 and the left front panel H is a layer of liningmaterial l9 which is secured to th folded portion l8 by a line of stitches 20 and to both the folded portion l8 and the front panel H by a line of stitches 2|.

Secured to the inner face of the folded portion [1 as by two lines of stitches 22 and 23 is one stringer 24 of a slide fastener structure, the said stringer 24 being so attached that the interlocking elements 25 connected thereto extend outwardly from the inner folded edge of the right front panel Ill. The two lines of stitches 22 and 23 extend throughout the entire length of the stringer 24, the line of stitches 23 penetrating only the stringer 24 and the folded portion l1, while the line of stitches 22 extend through both the stringer 24, the folded portion I1 and the right front panel Ill along a longitudinal line positioned just within the inner folded edge of the right front panel Hi. The row.

of fastener elements 25 on stringer 24 are adapted to interlock in interflngered relation with a row of fastener elements 26 provided on a second stringer 21, such interlocking engagement being controlled by a slider 28 which is manipulated manually alongthe longitudinal rows of elements 25 and 26, as is well known in the art. The

stringers 24 and 21 are joined together at their lower ends by a bottom stop and are also connected' at a point above'such stop by a cross tape 29 positioned on the interior of the slider and having an upwardly directed beaded or reinforced edge extending across the path of movement of the slider 28 and attached to catch the .slider ,on the latters downward movement to portion ll being ovcredged to prevent unraveling along its longitudinal central line to produce a longitudinally extending folded edge, the side edges of such material being united together by an overedging thread, as is shown more clearly in Figs. 5 to 7 of the drawings. The stringer 21 is positioned on the front layer of the fly 3| intermediate the longitudinally extending edges of the latter. The left fly 3| is secured to the inner folded portion l8 so that its folded edge projects outwardly a substantial distance from the inner folded edge of the left front panel II and is attached to the upper end of such folded portion |8 by a horizontal line of stitches 32 positioned adjacent to and in parallelism with the lower edge of the waistband |2, a vertical line of stitches 33 extending from the line of stitches 32 along a line positioned closely adjacent to the inner or attached ends of the elements 26 on the stringer 21 down to a point approximately onethird the length of the fly member 24 and a horizontal or transverse line of stitches 34 extending from the lower terminal end of the line of stitches 33 towards the attached edges of the fly 3| and in parallelism with the line of stitches 32. Thus 'the stringer 21 which is sandwiched in between the folded portion l8 and the left fly 3| is securely connected to both members from the waist.. band I2 down to a point approximately onethird its length and from such point to the lower end thereof is attached only to the left fly 3|, so that, the remaining portion of the stringer 21 and consequently the portion of the left fly 3| to which it is attached, may be separated from the adjacent portions of the left front panel H and its folded portion H3. The lower end of the left fly 3| is connected to the front panels l8 and H, the inner folded portions H and I8 and the stringers 23 and 21 bya transverse line of stitches 35 which is disposed beneath the lower edge of the cross bar 29, as is shown more clearly in Fig. 4 of the drawings. From the line of stitches 35 the lower terminal end of the left fly H is also secured to such parts by the center seam it. Intermediate the two transverse lines of stitches 34 and 35, the left fly 3| is provided with the male part 36 of a snap fastener adapted to engage with a female snap fastener part 31 attached to the inner folded portion H? to close the opening between the fly 3| and the left front panel H intermediate such lines of stitches 34 and 35.

From the foregoing it will be seen, that there has been provided a new and improved slide fastener trouser fly construction embodyinga slide fastener attached to a left fly which itselffis attached only partially to the left front panelof the garment so that even when the slide fastener is fully closed access may readily be made into the interior of the garment simply by unlocking the auxiliary closure or snap fastener. The assembly of this fly construction is accomplished by first folding inwardly the folded portion 1 to form a fold along the inner edge of the right front panel In. A strip of lining material I9 conforming in shape to the folded portion H! of the left front panel II is then secured to such folded portion l8 by the line of stitches 20 and a line of stitches 2| which joins also the inner salvaged edge of such folded portion Hi to the front panel A slide fastener structure comprising the stringers 24 and 21, their associated rows of elements 25 and 26, the slider 28 and the cross bar 29, is then attached to the fly member 3| by sewing the stringer 21 'to such member by the line of stitches 30. The stringer 24 of this unit is then attached to the folded portion H by means of the line of stitches 23 and to the folded portion I1 and the right front panel In by means of the line of stitches 22. The left fly member 3| with the attached stringer 21 is then secured to the upper end of the -'folded portion Is by means of the lines of stitches 32, 33 and 34 and to the lower end of such folded portion by the transverse line of stitches 35. The pair of substantially parallelly disposed lines of stitches forming the center seam |6 are thereupon made to secure the lower terminal end of the fly member 3| below the transverse line of stitches 35 to the parts of the garment previously pointed out, thus leaving the outer folded edge portion of the fly 3| free for its entire length.

While by the foregoing a preferred form of the invention has been described, it will be understood that changes and modifications therein may be made within the scope of the invention. For example, instead of attaching the stringer 21 of the slide fastener to the forward face of the fly member 3|, as is illustrated in Figs. 1 to 7 of the drawings, such stringer may be secured to the rear face of the fly member, as is illustrated in Figs. 8 and 9 of the drawings, thus providing a protection against contact with the fastener elements 25 and 26 while entry is made into the interior of the garment. In this construction, the left fly element 3| is preferably reinforced by a strip of lining material 38 which may be first secured intermediate the folded portions of such member in the formation of such member. Preferably also in this construction, there is attached to the rear folded edge portion of the right panel I0 afly member 39 composed of two layers of cloth whose ends have been first stitched together with the faces of the material together and then folded to provide a folded edge, the free edges of the two layers of folded material being then attached to the right panel Ill and to the stringer 24 by the line of stitches 22 which extend longitudinally of such stringer adjacent to the clamping ends of the interlocking elements 25 thereof.

I claim:

1. In combination with a garment having adjacent overlapping edge portions providing an opening, th garment material at such edge portions being folded inwardly and the inner fold of the outer, overlapping edge portion having a width greater than the inner fold of the overlappededge portion, a slide fastener stringer attached to the overlapped edge portion throughout its entire length, a backing member attached to said overlapping edge portion, a second stringer attached to said backing member throughout its entire length, and a slider longitudinally slidable on the interlocking elements of said slide fastener stringers for securing said stringers together, said backing member being attached to said overlapping edge portion at its ends and for a portion of its length from one of such ends, leaving the remainder 0f such backing member unattached and free of said overlapping edge portion, whereby' entry may be made between said adjacent edge portions into the interior of the garment when the slide fastener stringers are in their fully closed condition.

2. In a combination such as is defined in claim 1, a pair of spaced lines of stitches connecting said backing member to said overlapping edge portion of the garment, said lines of stitches extending transversely to the length of said backing member and defining the limits of the opening between said overlapping edge portion and said backing member and auxiliary fastening left fly throughout its entire length, and a slider longitudinally slidable on the interlocking elements of said slide fastener stringers for securing said stringers together, said left fly being attached to said left front portion at its top and bottom ends and from it top end down to a point spaced from such end less than half the length of said left fly, leaving the remainder of the fly unattached and free of said left front portion, whereby entry may be made between said left fly and said left front portion into the interior of the garment when the slide fastenerv stringers are in their fully closed condition.

4. In a trouser fly construction such as is defined in claim 3, in which said left fly is connected to said left front portion at its ends by transverse lines of stitches and intermediate its ends by a transverse line of stitches disposed in substantial parallelism with said top and bottom lines of stitches, said intermediate and top lines of stitches being connected by a line of stitches extending longitudinally of th left fly and attaching the latter to said left front portion.

5. In a trouser fly construction such as is defined in claim 3, in which said second-mentioned stringer is attached to the front face of said left fly and includes auxiliary fastening means connected to said left fly and said left front portion intermediate the ends of the opening therebetween and operable independently to close the opening between such members.

6. In a trouser fly construction such as is defined in claim 3, in which said second-mentioned stringer is attached to the rear face of said left fly, whereby insertion may be made into the interior of the garment without contacting the fastener elements of the stringers, and including a right fly attached to said right front portion and underlying said second-mentioned stringer and said left fly.

7. In combination with a garment having adjacent overlapping edge portions providing an opening, a series of fastener elements attached to the overlapped edge portion'throughout the entire length of the opening, an elongated backing member extending lengthwise of the opening, means attachingsaid backing member to said overlapping edge portion at its ends and for a portion of its length from on of such ends, leaving the remainder of such backing member unattached and free of said overlapping edge portion, a second series of fastener elements attached to said backing member, said second series of elements being complementary to the elements of said first series and adapted to cooperate with the same to secure said backing member to said overlapped edge portion, and independent complementary fastener devices connected to the unattached portion of said backing member and to the overlapping edge portion,

said fastener devices cooperating to releasably' connect said unattached portion of the backing member to the overlapping edge portion and adapted to be disengaged to permit entry into the interior of the garment without disengaging the series of complementary elements connecting the backing member and the overlapped edge portion.

ALBERT N. LAFRANCE. 

